Gangubai Kathiawadi: Sanjay Leela Bhansali kickstarts the BAFTA awards campaign

New Delhi: Sanjay Leela Bhansali has officially started a British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) campaign for his acclaimed film Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt in the lead role.

The 76th British Academy Film Awards, the UK’s biggest celebration of global excellence in film, will take place at the Royal Festival Hall in London in February 2023. As part of the campaign, Gangubai Kathiawadi will be submitted for BAFTA members’ consideration in all categories, including Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Leading Actress, and Film Not in the English Language.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali while speaking about the film and the love that is still pouring in, shared, “We are immensely blessed to have received so much appreciation for our film globally and we’re very excited to be part of the conversation this awards season amongst BAFTA voters”.

Alia Bhatt who was lauded for her performance in the film said “It is a great  honour to take Gangubai Kathiawadi to the world stage and it gives me nothing but joy to be on this journey with Sanjay Sir. The world has shown the film a lot of love and appreciation and we are excited to receive this love in the UK as well”

Gangubai Kathiawadi had its world premiere at the 72nd Berlinale International Film Festival in February earlier this year, where it received a standing ovation and rave reviews. Following a successful worldwide theatrical run, the film premiered on Netflix, where it debuted at No. 1 (Non-English Film) in the first week.

To date, it has become the second-most-watched non-English language film on Netflix.

No stranger to the coveted awards ceremony, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, was previously nominated at the 56th BAFTA Awards as the best foreign language film. Gangubai Kathiawadi was added to the official screening calendar for BAFTA voting members in October. Sanjay Leela Bhansali will be visiting the British capital for numerous events to support the campaign. He will share valuable insights into his three-decade-long career at a BAFTA Masterclass on the 28th of November.

The critically acclaimed Gangubai Kathiawadi is based on the book 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai.' The movie honours the success of a straightforward young woman who was tricked and sold to a brothel. She was forced to accept fate's course and try to make it work in her favour. She takes on the role of the voice of the silenced and makes it her goal to attempt to legitimize a contaminated profession with a long history.